Blood Fever Revisited
by Coral
Summary: J/C Version of Blood Fever
1. Part 1

Blood Fever Revisited  
Part 1  
  
By Coral  
  
Disclaimer: Paramount, this is all your fault.  
  
The long awaited answer to the Blood Fever Challenge is finally here. This... this... bane of my existence has taken nearly two months, due to repeated computer failures and accidents. I'm just glad it's all over!  
  
The Blood Fever Challenge: Write a J/C version of Blood Fever, whether it is Tuvok or Vorik that goes through the Pon Farr or another alien race with something similar is up to you.  
It must be at least 1000 words long.  
It must include the phrases:  
"This isn't about the gun this is about sex, but that's not going to happen right now." (where gun can be replaced with something else if you wish)  
and  
"I hope one day you'll say that to me and mean it."   
  
Many thanks to my beta readers, Hejira, Yarb and Bex, despite the lack of any good title ideas!  
  
This is dedicated to Laura, because it's her fault too.  
  
  
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Captain's Log, stardate 50537.2. Routine scans of an uninhabited star system have revealed the presence of galacite, a very rare substance, on the fourth planet.  
  
"If these readings are right," Torres said with a touch of awe in her voice as she looked at the sensor output, "We're looking at a yield of nearly a kiloton. That's enough to completely refit the warpcore!"  
  
Paris turned to look at her from the helm. "They could really do with it, after all the damage they've taken in the past two years," he commented.  
  
"Is there anyone in the area who might consider this their property?" Commander Chakotay asked, concerned. Voyager needed the galacite, but they couldn't afford to provoke a fight with any potential owners. She was alone out here in the Delta Quadrant - alone and unaided. Even if they'd pulled through tight scrapes before, getting into an avoidable one would have been a bad call.  
  
"It appears that a colony once existed on the planet," Tuvok, the Vulcan security chief, reported, "But it appears to be long abandoned."   
  
Janeway smiled and stood up, hands on her hips. "Then let's stake a claim. I'll take charge of this mission; Lt Torres, organise an Engineering team to prepare the coils for the refit."  
  
***  
  
"These tunnels seem to be artificial," Janeway said to Tuvok and Chakotay, running her finger along the schematic. "Someone else must've been interested in this galacite at some time."  
  
"The colony may have been placed there to mine it," Chakotay observed. "It looks like it's going to be one evil climb."  
  
"Have either of you had any experience with climbing?" Janeway asked. She herself had climbed a lot, including some on Mars when she was younger.  
  
Both the officers nodded. "Good," Janeway said. "We'll take Paris too. Chakotay, inform Tom, then go and dig out the equipment from Cargobay 1. Tuvok and I will try and find the safest route."  
  
"Take's all the fun out of it," Chakotay grinned as he started to leave.  
  
"Fun or life, you have the choice," she replied.  
  
Chakotay chuckled as he exited the room, and Janeway turned her attention back to the diagram. "Now, I think we ought to -"  
  
"Captain," Tuvok said, his voice sounding strangled, and not at all normal, "I wish to declare Koon-ut so'lik."  
  
"Koon-ut so'lik?" she repeated, sure she'd heard the term before, but unsure as to where from. Slowly it dawned her. "A marriage proposal?" she whispered in disbelief, gaping at Tuvok.  
  
"It is the logical solution." Tuvok began.  
  
"You're going through Pon Farr?" she asked, sitting down on her couch as her brain struggled to keep up with what was happening.  
  
"You are the logical choice. We have known each other a long time, and I trust you. You have many admirable qualities-"  
  
Janeway held up a hand to interrupt him. "Tuvok, I'm flattered, really I am, but I don't think this is exactly appropriate."  
  
"Captain, I wish you would consider this," he said, moving towards her.  
  
"Tuvok-"  
  
Tuvok's hands snaked out and gripped her face, initiating a mind meld with the Captain. She struggled to break free but the Vulcan's strength was far superior to her own. She could feel his mind reaching out to touch hers, searching desperately to make a connection.  
  
"Tuvok!" the Captain said sternly, desperately, unwilling to go through with this. Luckily, it startled Tuvok back to his senses. His hands fell away from her face, leaving red marks where he had been gripping so hard. Relieved, Janeway ran her hand along the edge of her face, lightly fingering the injuries.  
  
"Captain," Tuvok said breathlessly. "I would suggest that you go to sickbay."  
  
"You too, Tuvok," she said softly. "Something is obviously wrong."  
  
"It is the Pon Farr," he stated flatly. "I must confine myself to quarters to meditate." He shifted uncomfortably. "I would prefer it if you did not mention this to anyone," he said. "Although I will understand if you do."  
  
"I won't," she assured him.  
  
"I apologise, Captain. This will not happen again."  
  
She nodded sadly and watched him as he left, his normally stiff posture even more rigid and unyielding than usual.  
  
***  
  
"What did you say happened to you?" the Doctor asked in an irritated voice as he tried to heal the Captain's wounds. "You're bleeding beneath the skin, Captain. Would you please keep still!"  
  
Janeway fidgeted again, drawing an exasperated look. "Sorry," she grinned sheepishly. "It's just that I want to get on and get this mission out of the way," she explained, trying to keep still despite her growing excitement.  
  
"There. All done. You've got a clean bill of health." He looked at her sternly. "Now, I want you to tell me how this happened. I'm not letting you out of here until you do."  
  
Janeway deathglared him, but he didn't budge. Finally she sighed and admitted, "It was Tuvok."  
  
The Doctor looked surprised. "Tuvok did this? What on earth were you arguing about?"  
  
"You do understand Doctor, that what I am about to tell you does not go beyond this room. In fact, it does not go beyond your program without Tuvok's express permission." The Doctor nodded seriously and Janeway continued, "Tuvok's going through the Pon Farr. He tried to initiate a meld with me."  
  
"Whatever for?"  
  
"That's between Tuvok and I," Janeway said archly.  
  
The Doctor had a pretty shrewd idea what it had all been about, but he refrained from commenting. "Well then, Captain, I don't see any reason to detain you any longer. You're free to go," he informed her with a dour smile.  
  
Janeway leapt off the bed and hurried out of the room, feeling more energetic than she had in days. Perhaps she should go and see the Doctor more often.  
  
On the other hand, maybe not.  
  
***  
  
She changed quickly into her climbing suit and hurried down to the transporter room, where Chakotay and Paris were waiting. "Good morning, gentlemen," she beamed, heading up to the transporter console. "Good morning, Ayala."  
  
"Good morning, Captain," Ayala replied hesitantly, wondering if Janeway had finally flipped.  
  
"Where's Tuvok?" Tom asked.  
  
"He can't come," Janeway said. "We'll beam in here," she continued to Chakotay and Paris, speaking in a rapid tone of voice, her words practically tumbling over one another in order to get out. "Then we'll come down here across this tunnel and over this ravine and past this outcrop to reach the galacite does that sound all right to you Chakotay?"  
  
"Uh, sounds fine to me," Chakotay said.  
  
Paris raised an eyebrow as Janeway bounded back down to the transporter pad.  
  
"What's up with her?" he whispered.  
  
Chakotay shook his head. "Must've had some of Neelix's coffee," Chakotay suggested.  
  
Paris smirked. "Maybe we should run the warp core on it," he murmured as they joined her on the transporter pad.  
  
***  
  
They materialised in a jungle, with lush greenery all around, and the distant chirps of birds and insects. The sun shone brightly, and the air was fresh and clean, especially after the recycled air that they breathed on Voyager. Chakotay and Paris took their tricorders out and started scanning the area for potential threats.  
  
"There's some ruins here," Paris said, indicating what could once have been part of a building. "They've been abandoned for about fifty to sixty years."  
  
Chakotay frowned in concentration. "That's nowhere near enough time for this level of damage to have occurred," he said as he crouched down and ran his fingers delicately over some weathered and cracked carvings.  
  
"They must have suffered some sort of disaster," Paris said softly, awe and respect tingeing his voice.  
  
"We'll send an archaeological team down from Voyager," Janeway said. "Meanwhile, let's get a move on."  
  
Chakotay straightened up from the stone he had been looking at and looked at her quizzically. "Are we in a hurry, Captain?"  
  
"I just don't see any reason to stall," she explained. "Unless, of course, you don't want to show off your climbing skills."  
  
"I don't think so," Chakotay grinned. "Just try and keep up!"  
  
***  
  
"All this Starfleet safety equipment takes the fun out of climbing," Tom grumbled good-naturedly as he rammed the pitons into the rockface. The drop beneath them was as close to vertical as made no difference, and Paris didn't even want to think about how tall it was.  
  
"This'll get your blood pumping," Chakotay grinned, as he dropped over the edge and started to descend slowly but surely towards the bottom. "Watch your footing," he called, as some stones fell loose and rattled to the bottom of the cave.  
  
Janeway gestured to the cliff. "You first, Lieutenant," she said. "I'll be right behind you."  
  
Paris dropped over the edge and started to climb down slowly. He paused in surprise as Janeway followed suit, and soon caught up with, then overtook, him.  
  
"The holodeck is nowhere near as good as this," she called as she passed him.  
  
Paris was about to reply when he felt a jerk on his line. Looking up in horror, he barely had time to see his line fall free before he was plunging to the ground. Reacting instinctively, he grabbed the first thing his hands landed on - Janeway's line, and she joined him in his plummet to the ground. Chakotay, horrified, hastened down the last few metres, touching the bottom a few moments after the other two crashed forcefully onto the ground.  
  
"Kath- Captain, are you all right?" he asked fearfully, reaching down to help her up.  
  
She rolled away from him and stood up, glaring accusatively at Paris. "You had no right bringing equipment that you had no idea how to use!" she raged, her rarely seen temper flaring up with impressiveness.  
  
"Captain, I saw him. He put it in correctly. The equipment was probably faulty," he apologised for Paris, who was groaning on the ground in agony.  
  
"You could have gotten us both killed!" she yelled.  
  
"Captain. I'm sorry...I...argh! I don't know what happened!"  
  
"Careful, Paris," Chakotay cautioned. "You may have broken something. Captain, please, calm down. Are you hurt?"  
  
"I'm fine," Kathryn spat out, "No thanks to you two! I would have been better coming down here alone," she raged, snatching up her bag and putting it back on.  
  
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little?" Chakotay asked, trying to make Paris comfortable.  
  
"Just get him back to the ship," she shouted. "I'll get the galacite myself!"   
  
She turned to head out of the cave, but Chakotay jumped up and grabbed her by the arm as Paris coughed out, "Wait! We can't leave you alone down here."  
  
"He's right," Chakotay insisted sincerely, holding her arm tightly to stop her running off. Something was up with her, and he wasn't going to let her go running off alone until he knew what it was. Actually, scrap that - he wasn't going to let her go running off alone at all.  
  
"Get your hands off me," she said in a low voice, nearly a growl, but something in her tone and body language told Chakotay that she didn't really mean it.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" he queried, searching her face as if the answer was to be found there.  
  
"Nothing," she mumbled, unable to meet his eyes any longer. "Nothing's wrong with me. I'm in charge of this mission and I'm going to finish it, okay?"  
  
Chakotay's commbadge beeped. "Kim to Chakotay."  
  
Janeway took advantage of the momentary distraction to struggle against Chakotay's grasp and break free, running off down the tunnel. Chakotay looked from her to Paris, torn between going after her to keep her safe and staying with Paris until help could reach them.  
  
"Go ahead," Paris suggested, "I'll be alright."  
  
Chakotay made his decision. "The last thing we need is for all of us to split up," he explained as Harry repeated his hail worriedly. The First Officer slapped his commbadge. "Chakotay here. Go ahead, Ensign."  
  
"Commander, there's something wrong with the Captain. The Doc treated her for something just before she left for the surface, and he's discovered a problem."  
  
"Harry, send the Doctor down here. Tom's broken his leg," Chakotay explained, finally turning his full attention to the injured party and trying to provide what little aid he could.  
  
"Yes, right away sir! Kim out." Chakotay smiled sadly to himself.  
  
"What do you think is wrong with the Captain?" Paris asked, shuddering as another wave of pain swept through his body.  
  
"Hopefully, it's nothing too serious," Chakotay replied absently, his instincts telling him to go after Kathryn - to find her, to help her, to protect her.  
  
"Perhaps it explains the way she was acting," Paris mused, then passed out from pain.  
  
***  
  
Eventually, The Doctor, Vorik and B'Elanna appeared at the top of the cliff. Letting down a rope, they hauled the still unconscious Paris up and Vorik beamed back to Voyager with him so that Kes could set his leg. B'Elanna deactivated The Doctor and, placing his emitter in her backpack, quickly rappelled down the cliff face to join Chakotay.  
  
"Here you go," she said, handing him the emitter. "Do you want me to give you some privacy?"  
  
Chakotay gave her a grateful look. "If you don't mind," he said, hastily reactivating the Doctor.  
  
"Mind if I go and search for the galacite?" B'Elanna asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.  
  
"Sorry, Torres, but I don't want to lose anyone else in the caves at the moment."  
  
"Fine," Torres grumbled, scuffing her boots and heading for a corner as the Doc appeared, frown firmly in place, looking for all the world like a young child denied the chance to go out and play.  
  
"Ah, Commander, I ran some scans on the Captain just before you beamed down," The Doctor explained, not beating round the bush. "I was just going over them in more depth when I found that she has developed a neurochemical imbalance."  
  
"What is the nature of this... imbalance?" Chakotay asked impatiently, concern etched onto his features.  
  
"From what I can tell, she's going through the Pon Farr," The Doctor answered grimly.  
  
"Wait a minute, isn't that the Vulcan Mating Urge? How can Kathryn be going through it? It's not... logical."  
  
The Doctor's eyebrow rose at the Commander's use of the Captain's first name, but he wisely refrained from commenting. "Tuvok's going through it," he explained, feeling slightly guilty about breaking his promise to the Captain. "He attempted to mind meld with the Captain - that's why she was down in sickbay in the first place."  
  
"If he hurt her-" Chakotay hissed, fists clenched, drawing an inquisitive look from Torres, who had been scanning the rocks and analysing the results for lack of anything better to do.  
  
Chakotay lowered his voice back to a whisper. "Can you treat them?"  
  
"The Captain, probably yes. But only if we get her back to sickbay soon. I can't help Tuvok, because he's pure Vulcan. He has to meditate."  
  
"What will happen if we don't get her back to sickbay?" Chakotay asked worriedly. A surge of fear ran through his body at the thought of the possible consequences of failure.  
  
"Then I'm afraid her condition will become fatal," the Doctor said simply, with a shrug of his holographic shoulders.  
  
Chakotay's jaw set. "Then we have to find her."  
  
***  
  
Kathryn shook her hair out, glad to finally be free of the restraining clip as she continued to follow the tricorder readings, humming happily as she walked through the warm caverns and listened to the merry warble of the tricorder. Who'd left the heating on? She wished they'd turn it off; it was hotter than Vulcan in here. Wiping a hand across her brow to try and get rid of the sticky sweat that was plastering her hair, she lost her footing and slipped slightly, skidding down a short slope, sending a scree of pebbles and stones down with her. She was so excited at finding the source of the galacite readings that she barely noticed her close fall, instead bounding over the upset stones to the source of the reading. Something, buried under moss and dirt, was glowing. That wasn't right, was it? Galacite didn't glow!  
  
Sweeping away the bracken, she trained the tricorder on the light tube that she discovered there. The power source was still active and the conduit was lined with... galacite.  
  
"Captain!"  
  
She turned at the sound of her First Officer's voice, a wide smile breaking out on her face. "Chakotay, you've got to see this!" she exclaimed, taking his hand and pulling him possessively over to the energy conduit. "It's some sort of power conduit, and it's still active!"  
  
"Captain, we have to get you back to sickbay," The Doctor said. Kathryn ignored him.  
  
"They're covered in galacite, Chakotay, it's the source of the readings we picked up!" she explained, her body pressed so close to his that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck, reminding her of his presence.  
  
"Good. Now that the mission's completed, can we go back to Voyager?" Chakotay asked almost pleadingly. "You have to come to sickbay."  
  
"Don't be stupid," she said off-handedly, still fascinated by the energy conduits. "I'm not ill."  
  
The Doctor stepped forward. "You're suffering from a neurochemical imbalance in your brain, Captain. It's affecting your judgment," the EMH explained. "It could be fatal unless you return to sickbay soon."  
  
Janeway backed away from them, looking like a cornered animal. "Can't I be a little enthusiastic without everyone thinking I'm ill?" she asked in exasperation. She turned back to Chakotay and, putting her arms around his neck, purred, "Tell them I'm not ill."  
  
Chakotay hurriedly disentangled himself from her embrace, flushing uncomfortably, glad that the lighting in the cave was dim enough for it not to show too obviously. "You have to believe us," he said, taking her by the shoulders and forcing her to look at him. "You're seriously ill." His voice lowered as he continued, "You're going through the Pon Farr-"  
  
She cut him off with a scathing look. "That's not possible!" she insisted, her voice rising and growing shriller. "I'm not Vulcan - I'm not even half-"  
  
"Kathryn! Listen to me!" he begun desperately, but a harsh beeping sound cut him off, and the ground trembled beneath them.  
  
"Don't move!" a voice warned them.  
  
They froze immediately, with the exception of Janeway, who took advantage of the distraction to wrest herself free from Chakotay's grasp and start pacing like a caged tiger.  
  
"Seismic alert," the voice continued, and a group of aliens, each bearing a heavy weapon, appeared as if by magic. "That wall over there is unstable. Be careful."  
  
The Voyager officers backed away, leaving only Kathryn near it. As the ground's tremors intensified, one of the aliens jumped down and grabbed her arm, meaning to drag her out of the way. Despite the fact that he was not overly big, like all the aliens in the group, his grip was strong and firm.  
  
For his trouble, he got a hefty punch to the stomach, then to his head.  
  
"Kathryn! No!" Chakotay yelled as she wrestled with the alien. He dashed forward to separate them physically if he had to, but Kathryn had already fought him off, grabbing his gun in the process. The ground shook again, and Chakotay lost his balance, tumbling to the ground. Stones and dirt started to fall as the tremors strengthened - and the wall collapsed.  
  
***  
  
"Where did they go?" Kathryn Janeway demanded, sitting on the cave floor with a confused expression. "There has to be a hidden door, or... or a passage. Something!"  
  
Chakotay flipped open his tricorder, scanning the area around him for any indication of where the mysterious aliens might have gone. "I'm not picking up anything like that," he informed her. "I'm not picking up lifesigns either."  
  
"Then you're using it wrong!" she accused him, snatching the tricorder out of his hands and fiddling with it.  
  
"Yeah, that must be it," Chakotay commented sarcastically, taking the tricorder back. "Either that, or the aliens are generating interference to stop us from getting decent readings."  
  
Kathryn pulled off her jacket, revealing the vest top she was wearing underneath. Her skin was sheened with sweat and blood from various scratches. Sweat soaked the vest top, leaving it clinging tightly to her body, and Chakotay suddenly had difficulty concentrating on what he was supposed to be doing as she wiped the sweat from her face, then tossed the jacket aside. "We have to find a way out," he insisted, reminding himself as much as her.  
  
"We can't leave the others," Kathryn said stubbornly, running her fingers through her loose, dirty hair. She knew what she wanted when she got back to Voyager - a long, hot, luxurious bath... and a cup of coffee, she remembered. Couldn't forget that. As long as it wasn't Neelix's-  
  
"How do you propose we find them!?" Chakotay burst out, his voice raising in exasperation. It felt like the temperature in the cavern was rocketing by the second.  
  
Kathryn stopped playing with her hair to look at him plaintively, wondering what she'd said wrong, and Chakotay immediately felt guilty for losing his temper with her, especially now. He crouched down beside her and put what he hoped was a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We have to get back to Voyager, get you to sickbay. Then we can find B'Elanna and the Doctor. Okay?"  
  
"There's nothing wrong with me," she insisted softly, eyes wide, innocent, and confusion showing on her face.  
  
"Let's just walk, right?" Chakotay suggested quietly.  
  
She nodded her agreement and he helped her up, all too conscious of her nearness. They walked in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds those of a loose rock or stone being dislodged, and falling down to the ground, setting up peculiar echoes in the caverns... 


	2. Part 2

Blood Fever Revisited  
Part 2  
  
By Coral  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Paramount, this is all your fault.  
  
  
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Chakotay was barely able to keep his mind focused on what he was supposed to be doing; the sight of her or the sound of her breathing kept distracting him. He laughed inwardly - anyone would think that it was he, not her, who was going through the Pon Farr. Normally he could at least manage to concentrate on what he was doing when he was working with her, but this cave, her state, and the heat were starting to get to him.  
  
"You must be wrong about this whole Pon Farr thing," she said suddenly as she stepped to avoid a rock in the path. Chakotay, his eyes on her and his mind trying to be on anything but her, didn't notice it and stubbed his toe. Hard. "It doesn't make sense."  
  
Chakotay bit back his yelp of pain as he said, "It explains how you've been acting."  
  
"What's so strange about it?" she asked, stopping and turning to face him, chest heaving with the force of her gasping breaths.  
  
"Starting a fight with armed aliens, yelling at Tom, not listening to us, calling me by my first name more often than usual, running off alone..."  
  
"Alright, alright," she conceded, sitting down against the wall gratefully, taking gulps of air to try to breathe more easily. "Maybe I do... feel... something, some kind of... of instinct... but what do I do about... about it?"  
  
He came and knelt in front of her, gently brushing her hair out of her eyes. "We'll get you back to sickbay, then Kes and the Doctor will treat you. Failing that, there's always Tuvok," he added with a grin.  
  
Another tremor hit the cave, shaking a pile of rocks loose. Instinctively, Chakotay tried to protect from the rockslide with his body; memories of the storm on New Earth began to flood his memory and he struggled to ignore them. He had to stay focused, he reminded himself as the rocks cascaded down around them, stay focused. Don't think about how wonderful she looks, and how wonderful she would feel.  
  
Finally the deluge stopped, and he moved back from her gratefully. "Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
She nodded. "These rocks are in the way," she told him, pointing to the pile deposited by the tremors. Standing up, she aimed the gun at them decisively.  
  
Horror coursed through Chakotay as he realised what she was about to do. He grabbed the muzzle of the gun and deflected it, so agitated that he didn't notice that it was now pointing at his own chest.  
  
"Don't use the gun," he told her, trying to speak calmly and evenly, purging the panic from his system as best he could. "The tunnels are unstable, you could bring the whole lot down on top of us."  
  
"Let go!" she yelled.  
  
Chakotay almost did from sheer force of habit, but managed to keep his grip as she tried to get it free.  
  
"No, I think I should keep this for now," he said, worried about her safety and his own.  
  
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to pick a fight with a redhead?" she asked, her voice low and threatening as she continued to tug at the gun.  
  
"I'm not going to fight with you, Kathryn."  
  
"I'll-"  
  
"Kathryn!" Chakotay shouted. "Stop it! This isn't about the gun, it's about sex, but that's not going to happen right now."  
  
He wrest the gun free as she lent up against him, backing him against the wall and murmuring seductively, "I think it is."  
  
"No." Summoning every ounce of self-control he'd ever had, and several spare ones, he pushed her away. "No. I'm your friend and your First Officer. I have to watch out for you when your judgment's been impaired." She leant heavily against the opposite wall as he continued, trying to distract himself more than anything, "If you let your instincts take over now, you'll hate yourself, and me for taking advantage of you. I won't do that Kathryn, you mean too much to me."  
  
"Maybe we should split up," she suggested, still struggling to breathe properly.  
  
"No!"  
  
"You don't know how strong... how hard it is to fight... to fight these urges..." she gasped, barely able to form the words.  
  
Despite their predicament, Chakotay grinned. "Are you telling me I'm impossible to resist?" he asked teasingly, and she shot him a look of pure acidity.  
  
"I wouldn't go that far," she said, trying to get a grip on her racing thoughts and feelings. "I've managed it for two years."  
  
"Good. Than let's get a move on."  
  
***  
  
"We're almost to the next passage. Do you think you can make it?" Chakotay asked, helping her up a few steps.  
  
"Don't have much choice," Kathryn replied. She looked completely different; her normally immaculate appearance hidden... covered in blood, mud and sweat, and long hair was plastered to her skin. Chakotay was sweating too, although he suspected that the temperature in the caves wasn't wholly responsible for it.  
  
The ground shook once more, taking them both by surprise. Rocks tumbled from above as Chakotay tried to catch his Captain's hand and pull her away, but he came up empty-handed. The rocks pounded down around him and he fell to the floor, losing his grip on the gun. He watched in anguish as it was buried underneath the falling rocks.  
  
The onslaught finally ended, leaving a disheveled Chakotay lying on the ground. "Kathryn!" he called, his first thought for her safety as his eyes searched anxiously for her, hoping she wasn't trapped or injured. "Kathryn, can you hear me?"  
  
"Chakotay?" she asked weakly, coughing as the dust released by the slide got into her mouth and lungs.  
  
He pulled himself up and hurried over to her side, helping her to stand also. "Alright, let's try to find a way out of here," he suggested.  
  
"I think it's worth the risk using the weapon now," she said.  
  
Chakotay sighed. "If I still had it. It's buried somewhere under all that rock," he explained, waving a hand in the general direction of the pile.  
  
"What?!" she exclaimed, trying to steady her shaky legs by leaning against the cave wall.  
  
"Try to stay calm," he asked her. "I know it's hard-"  
  
"You don't know anything!" she exploded, fury taking over her. "I feel like I'm crawling out of my skin!"  
  
The look in her eyes became feral, possessive, and she launched herself at Chakotay. He was taken by surprise as he fell, Kathryn on top of him, the look in her eyes both scaring and exciting him. He shook himself back to his senses as her lips brushed his, and he rolled her over and moved off quickly.  
  
"Kathryn, I can't let you do this," he told her.  
  
"But you wish you could," she murmured in her low, gravelly voice, moving towards him. Chakotay tried to step backwards, only to find his back against the wall. "All those dinner dates, trips to the holodeck, the legend, the rose. You can't tell me you're not interested," she whispered, starting to kiss him lightly.  
  
"This isn't really you," he protested weakly. "You've made it clear that you're not ready to be anything more than just friends. I have to accept that that's how you feel, even now," Chakotay explained, each word stabbing at his heart.  
  
"No, no, it isn't," she whispered back, planting light kisses on his cheek and neck. "I was... just afraid to admit it. I've wanted this for so long... I love you, Chakotay... do I have to order you...? Just let it happen... please..."  
  
Chakotay's resolve vanished as if it had been fired at with a phaser set on vapourise. He kissed her back, holding her close to him. He'd wanted her for so long that it felt like forever to him; he'd imagined this moment, but it had never been like this when he'd dreamed about it.  
  
Suddenly, the kiss felt empty, meaningless, and he drew away, gathering every last shred of his self-control around him like a shield. He wanted her to love him, yes, but not like this. Not under the influence of a Vulcan love bug. He wanted her, the real Kathryn.  
  
"I hope one day you'll say that to me and mean it," he sighed quietly.  
  
Kathryn stared at him in disbelief. "You'd let me go insane rather than help me!" she yelled in accusation.  
  
"You know that's not true-" he tried to protest.  
  
"Just stay away from me! Stay away!" she cried, backing up against the wall as sobs started racking her body.  
  
***  
  
In the darkness, Chakotay futilely tugged at the rocks blocking their way, scratching his hands and arms in the process. They were too heavy; he couldn't move them alone, and Kathryn had long since fallen into a fitful and restless sleep. Chakotay was worried sick about her, and wished he'd never laid eyes on a Vulcan. Why couldn't they just keep their damned problems to themselves? He tried pulling at another rock, but he only let loose a small avalanche of pebbles and sharp stones that fell on his hands, cutting them. Chakotay groaned in pain and was about to try again when he heard Kathryn whimper.  
  
Coming over quickly to her side, he gently touched her arm to see if she was awake. She'd been talking in her sleep earlier. Kathryn jumped at the touch, her eyes flying wildly open.  
  
"Where are we?" she murmured, looking around as her eyes adjusted to the darkness in the cavern.  
  
"We're still stuck in the cave, I'm afraid," he told her quietly, using the one light they had to get a better look at her injuries.  
  
"Cave? Oh, the galacite," she remembered, pushing herself into a sitting position. "Where's my tricorder gone?"  
  
"We're not looking for the galacite anymore," Chakotay reminded her gently, wary of provoking her into a fit of temper again, "We're trying to get back to Voyager, remember?"  
  
She looked at him, confused. "No... I don't..." she whispered in bewilderment, but Chakotay's attention was caught by the sound of rocks falling behind them.  
  
Someone else - someone on the other side! - was removing the rocks!  
  
Chakotay jumped up and started to help, pulling at the now loosened rocks, eventually revealing B'Elanna's worried visage. "We've been worried sick about you!" she scolded him. "Are you two alright?" She shone her light into the cave, giving it an eerie illumination that made Chakotay shudder.  
  
"The Captain needs help. We've got to get her out of here."  
  
***  
  
Chakotay felt an immense wave of relief wash over him as they finally reached the cave entrance and emerged on the surface of the planet in the jungle they had visited before. The feel of the sun beating down on him had never felt so wonderful or been so welcome before.  
  
B'Elanna tapped her commbadge as Kathryn sat down on a large stone slab, exhausted from stress of the past couple of hours. "Torres to Voyager," she said, and waited. "Voyager, this is Torres. Voyager, respond." She turned to the Doctor. "Still nothing," she grumbled.  
  
"What's the matter?" Chakotay asked. "Why aren't they answering?"  
  
"There must be some sort of communications problem. It should be fixed soon," she assured him, hoping that it was true.  
  
"It may not be soon enough," The Doctor interjected worriedly. "I'm concerned about the rapid progression of her symptoms - in a Vulcan, they can take days to come on." He turned to Chakotay, almost apologetically, his hidden meaning clear as he pointed out, "Someone has to help her."  
  
Chakotay tried to ignore Torres' smothered smile as he turned back to Kathryn, fear in his dark eyes.  
  
"Kathryn, I don't think I know how to do this," he admitted, taking her into his arms and just holding her close for a moment.  
  
A ringing sound echoed behind them, and they turned as Tuvok materialised slightly behind the group, startling them and drawing surprised looks from  
  
B'Elanna and The Doctor. "Doctor, you must let me help her," he insisted.  
  
Chakotay, cradling her in his arms, looked up. "No! Don't touch her!"  
  
Tuvok steepled his fingers. "I have overcome the Pon Farr, Commander."  
  
"What good will that do the Captain?" The Doctor asked, curious.  
  
"I will mind-meld, try to provide-"  
  
"No!" Chakotay repeated. "You've done enough damage already, Tuvok."  
  
"Commander, you must trust me," Tuvok insisted calmly, speaking as if to a young child.  
  
"You are being irrational and emotional. I can help her resist the effects of the blood fever and help her purge it from her system."  
  
Chakotay began to argue again, but the dark Vulcan cut him off. "I am her friend. I do not wish to see her die through an action or inaction of my mine."  
  
The commander looked up at the dark Vulcan, his Captain still barely conscious in his arms, trying to find some hint of his true intentions in his closed face and tight expression. The Vulcan's demeanour was as controlled and guarded as ever, but in Tuvok's eyes, Chakotay could see - something else. Friendship?  
  
Sorrow? Love? Tuvok and Chakotay had had their differences in the past couple of years, since Tuvok had been revealed as a Starfleet spy. Sometimes, Chakotay's dislike of the Vulcan had clouded his judgement, and, even now, he had forgotten that Vulcans had feelings too. Tuvok and Kathryn had been friends long before he and the Captain had even met. Surely that gave Tuvok a right to at least try and do what he felt was best? Wouldn't he want that chance, if he was standing in the Vulcan's shoes - knowing that Kathryn would die if he didn't do something, and it would be his fault?  
  
Then he looked back down at Kathryn, her head resting on his shoulder, sweat drenching her vest top and blood encrusting her skin. But he wasn't seeing her like that. He saw her opposite him, their fingers entwined, a sweet smile on her face, an ancient legend still floating in the air between them. He was seeing the numerous touches, looks and smiles that they had shared in the past few years, and suddenly, painfully, he knew he could never live without her.  
  
He had to let Tuvok try.  
  
Tears threatening to well up in his eyes, he nodded his agreement to Tuvok. He knelt in front of her and spread his fingers out to initiate the meld, gently probing her skin to find the pressure points that he needed.  
  
The Captain flinched at the touch, startled into consciousness by Tuvok's touch.  
  
"No! Leave me alone!" she gasped, writhing away from his searching fingers.  
  
"Relax, Captain," he told her, his fingers firmly in place. "I am your friend. I am here to help."  
  
She stiffened beneath his touch and flung her arms up, pushing his hands off her face and standing up. Only Chakotay's grip was stopping her from running away as she stood defensively, arms raised to stop Tuvok trying to meld with her.  
  
"You've got to trust him, Kathryn," Chakotay whispered softly. "He's going to help you. Co-operate, please? For your crew... for me...?" he pleaded.  
  
No one dared breathe for a moment, then slowly, surely, her arms fell back to her sides and she relaxed visibly. Chakotay heaved an inward sigh of relief as Tuvok approached and found the contact points once more.  
  
"My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts." Tuvok intoned. *Picture the fever as a fire. A fire that is burning bright in your heart.*  
  
*I can't!*  
  
*You can. That's better. Now, imagine that you are extinguishing that fire.*  
  
*How? What with, Tuvok?*  
  
*With water. Find your inner calm. It is the water that will put out this fire.*  
  
*I've got it... but it's not going out!*  
  
*Do not worry. I am with you. I add my water to the fire.*  
  
*Yes... yes, that's better! It's going down.*  
  
*Good. That's good. Is it out?*  
  
"It's out." she gasped aloud. Chakotay caught her as her shaking body went limp and fell, breaking the meld. Tuvok clenched his fists momentarily, trying to regain control after the abrupt end to the meld.  
  
"Get her back to the ship. Her other injuries are also severe," Tuvok cautioned before collapsing to the ground.  
  
"Torres to Voyager."  
  
"Kim here. The planet's inhabitants were jamming the comm system. Carey and Vorik just managed to bypass it."  
  
"Good job, Starfleet," Torres said, teasingly, relieved that the worst of the danger was finally over. "Five to beam up."  
  
"Will do."  
  
Torres looked around the jungle ruins one last time before the transporter beam caught her and whisked her away. She had a curious sensation of... of something.  
  
Her mind's eye saw her hitting Vorik, whilst Tom watched on in concern. She saw Neelix, nursing a broken leg. She saw Tom, and herself, engaged in -  
  
No, she had to get that out of her head!  
  
She'd been working overtime recently. That had to explain all this. Tom Paris... and her? Not in a million years!  
  
***  
  
Walking down the corridor on Voyager, Chakotay had an almost surreal feeling. It had been a week since the incident on the planet, but it may as well never have happened for all the change it had wrought. The only thing different from usual was the Captain's notable frostiness towards him, and her remarkable ability to never end up anywhere alone with him anymore.  
  
Speaking of which -  
  
The turbolift doors opened to reveal none other than Kathryn Janeway, and the expression on her face made it clear that she would rather be anywhere else except where she was at that moment.  
  
"Hi," Chakotay said, unable to come up with anything more inspiring as a conversation opener.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Deck - uh, deck twelve," Chakotay remembered, slightly flustered as the lift continued in stony silence. Kathryn kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, not looking his way once. As he listened to the gentle, rhythmic swish-swish of the turbolift mechanism, he could feel himself starting to fracture under the pressure of the silence hanging over their heads.  
  
Finally, he cracked. "This is ridiculous!" he spat out. "We're going to be on this ship together for along time."  
  
"I agree," Kathryn said, a hint of anxiousness in her voice. "We should just forget the whole thing ever happened."  
  
Chakotay had to smile sardonically; at least now, she was admitting that it had happened. "That's not what I meant. Whether you want to admit it or not, something happened between us. We can't ignore that."  
  
"I can," Kathryn replied, voice as cold as steel. "As far as I'm concerned, I was ill and not in control of my actions. Is that understood, Commander?" she asked, laying extra emphasis on his rank.  
  
"Loud and clear, Captain," Chakotay replied in like. "Kathryn-" He hesitated, unsure how far to go. "Kathryn, I just want you to know. I'll wait. Even if it takes the next seven years - or seventy."  
  
The turbolift stopped and the doors opened, allowing the Captain to step out and onto the bridge.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow," was all she said.  
  
END 


End file.
